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Belkin Headphone Adapter for iPod Shuffle
by beautybabiex
After writing my review the other day which I have only just put up, I actually managed to wash my headphones in the washing machine - after stating their importance when using the iPod Shuffle. I brought this headphone adapter from Amazon after hearing from my Mums partner that they were excellent (his son has a shuffle too). ...
On Amazon the headphones price varies, I managed to get mine from someone selling them for only £7, but from new they are a little bit more if you're willing to pay the price. The adapter is also available from gadget stores such as curry's and comet, also eBay.
The adapter is basically giving you the controls you get with Apple headphones, but without the ear bits. The idea is that it connects to your iPod and your headphones, giving you the ability to change volume, song, play and pause. I like that the company cleverly caught onto the fact that Apple had no adapters for the iPod shuffle if their own headphones broke - they only give you a new expensive pair of standard headphones! Belkin did well to jump in the iPod bandwagon to make these.
As you can see from the image, the adapter has a headphone end to put into your iPod and an end to put headphones into. In the middle there is a 3 button control which has a plus sign and minus sign on each of the end buttons. They are for controlling the volume of the music. The middle button is grey and if held down reads your playlists, or it can be clicked once to pause/play or clicked twice to skip song. The controls are exactly the same as with the Apple headphones so you don't need to get used to any new ways of controlling your music.
The sound quality is not affected by the adapter at all which I kind of thought it may be. The quality is only affected by the new headphones that you choose to plug into the iPod. I have used the headphones plugged into my computer without the adapter and there was no difference, but they are only cheap headphones due to the price of the adapter!
I only received them yesterday and used them on the bus to and from college, so I cannot really comment on their use long term but I am sure they will last a long time as it is such a well known brand. It may seem like a pointless purchase but when you love music as much as I do, it is a good investment if you cannot afford Apple's ridiculous prices.
-- The 'picture rating' below I have rated at poor because it wouldn't let me not rate. There is no pictures involved --
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Sky TV Link
by alyson29
Please note that Dooyoo advised that I post my review in this category, which is for a Philips product. However, the item I am reviewing is manufactured by Universal Electronics and not Philips.
When we moved into our current home almost three years ago one of the priorities on hubby's list was to connect Sky to our bedroom ... television and no, we do not subscribe to THOSE channels! Whilst I was quite happy to patiently wait for my bedtime viewing hubby was desperate for it to be sorted straight away! Fortunately, my priorities lay elsewhere, such as making our home as cosy as I possibly could.
The day after our house move the Sky engineer visited and rigged up our satellite dish, which provided us with a multitude of channels on our living room television; the majority of which I don't even watch! However, due to the excessive quotes received from both Sky and a local aerial company we did not go ahead with connecting the upstairs television.
Consequently, hubby set about carrying the work himself and subsequently connected the coaxial cabling to our bedroom television. However, the only way of changing the channel was to run downstairs to operate the Sky remote control, which had to be operated in the living room. It was quite ridiculous when I think back, particularly as hubby generally spends about an hour each day channel surfing and in fact, his antics led to quite a few arguments, as I was fed up with the constant flick, flick, flick of the array of television pictures!
He soon tired of this, but his quest continued where he purchased a couple of devices and once again, became extremely frustrated that neither would work! His latest purchase was one that he discovered approximately twelve months ago and is manufactured by Universal Electronics. The product is named Sky One For All TV Link and is a small black sturdy plastic device with a magic eye. We learned that if hubby could correctly fit this new device we would be able to operate the bedroom television from the actual room by way of a second remote control. What bliss this would be for me if this would actually work, particularly as I would no longer have to endure his huffing and puffing whilst he ran up and down the stairs!
Consequently, the new challenge began. In the TV Link set, in addition to the tvLink IR as described above, we were provided with a male and female connector and a tvLink connector, which fits into the rear of our bedroom television.
As hubby had already completed some of the required tasks prior to discovering this purchase, it was not necessary for him to follow all of the instructions, but I can advise that it was an extremely quick and easy process. Whilst I do not wish to use this review to provide step-by-step details, I can advise that it took him approximately half an hour from start to finish. It was simply a case of fitting a coaxial cable from the main television to our bedroom television and fitting the male and female connectors into the appropriate slots. It was also necessary for us to purchase a second Sky remote control, which can be purchased from stores such as Argos and Currys for around £10.
The tvLink eye is an extremely clever little device, but you have to ensure that it is placed somewhere visible and in the correct position to enable it to receive the signals from your Sky remote control. Hubby had initially blu-tacked it on the upper left hand side of the television frame, but I found this somewhat distracting, particularly as I would end up watching the device as opposed to my programme. Consequently, I relocated the device to sit neatly in front of the television.
I have to admit that it is extremely handy, particularly as we enjoy watching television from our warm comfy bed during the cold winter months. I would point out that this is not a device that will allow you to watch an alternative channel to your main television and is solely a product that will allow you to watch the same programme in another room.
I recommended this product to a friend a few months ago and she was delighted with her new purchase. However, one evening she was snuggling into bed whilst her young teenage son was supposed to be doing his homework downstairs and decided to watch a little television and was shocked when she switched it on only to discover a number of naked wobbly bits bouncing around the television screen! Her quiet teenage son was oblivious to the fact that his mother could see everything and was now fully aware of his curiosity for porn!
The tvLink IR is extremely lightweight and measures only 4 cm in length and 3 cm in width and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is so effective. We have had the device connected for the 12 months since our initial purchase and have never experienced any problems whatsoever. My sister recently requested a local aerial company provide the same service for her and she was charged in excess of £100, which in my opinion is ridiculous for a length of coaxial cable and a similar unit.
I cannot recommend the One For All TV Link highly enough and I would advise that it is currently available from Amazon. You can choose to purchase the device together with a second Sky remote control from £15.20 plus P+P or just the unit from £9.99 plus P+P. However, please be aware that the Sky remote Amazon is selling is for the basic Sky box as opposed to Sky+ or Sky+HD.
As this is such a superb device it receives a full 5 out of 5 stars from me, together with a huge recommendation.
I hope you found my review useful and would thank you for reading.
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